Wwe were going hiking to a waterfall..weather was iffy,so went to the "swap meet" and hiked around there instead..GLAD I DID!One of the regular overpriced dealers there had this sitting on the corner of his table..

..Anyway..I asked the price,expecting $100.."ah..$15?...SOLD! Totally unused Optimus 99..but no box..Oh well figured I'd better pay for the thing and not hassle for the box..and get the heck out of there.. On the way home stopped by a thrift store and picked up an Official Boy Scout Miner's Tent made of Canvas,bag dated 1962..but no pole..looks exactly like a real nice pattern for a two person single pole tent..6' tall inside and 7-9x7-9 square bottom..The canvas is pretty much perfect other than a big "RB" in felt pen on the lower side..nice pattern for a lightweight nylon 2 person tent before reselling it as a BS collectible!

The tent is in very good shape..bag needs some sewing and patching as you can see to the front panel..no aluminum pole.. I also picked up a slightly over sized fanny pack with a zippered compartment and two mesh bottle pockets..tjhat unfolds into a full lightweight backpack with shoulder straps and waist belt.Too big for the wife and fit me perfect so it'll make a nice lightweight day hiker at 13oz.. It turned out to be a good day even though I didn't get to the falls!

Last edited by realityguy on Sun Jul 19, 2009 6:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

The views and opinions expressed by this person are his own and not the general consensus of others on this website.Realityguy

Sorry to make you feel bad,oops! ..I'm excited about it!I haven't seen a 99 in probably 5 years and pretty much figured I wouldn't get one for my collection..but now that hole has been filled..and with an unused one! Years ago I probably sold 5-6 over the last ten years on ebay..I think all but one went to Japan..this one is staying at home! Glad to see you back!

The views and opinions expressed by this person are his own and not the general consensus of others on this website.Realityguy

The shoulder straps aren't padded,no sternum strap..but it has a waist belt.I had the wife try it on..too big.I tried it on as tight as the shoulder straps would go(or there's about another foot of strap!)..fit like a glove! There is a top mesh pocket in the "fanny" mode..the pack straps fit in a pocket underneath that..AND..under that is a large back pocket 10x6x6.The belt has two small pockets and two waterbottle mesh pockets.In pack mode,top zippered large pocket is about 6x10x18..the mesh pocket folds into a possible one for padding at the lower back..You still have access to the lower pocket and the new upper one.It does have a couple 4 way strap holders so you could strap a bag or pad on the bottom of it. Not a bad dayhiker/travel-lite overnight with lots of room..for 12-13oz!..and the $2 I paid for it..

The views and opinions expressed by this person are his own and not the general consensus of others on this website.Realityguy

The last one I sold had the pump with it,think the handle also,no instructions..The pump seemed like a pretty simple thing and should be easy to make(hint ..)for the people that might want them..Someone I think in maine bought 3 at once off ebay from me(1-99,2-8rs)for about $170..(ebay B-I-Ns)..must have been a couple years ago by now.. One more thing about the swap meet this time..I've never seen so many old coleman lanterns there i probably saw 3-4 chrome ones and several other old ones.it was a good day for that!There were a lot of sellers that were new with different stuff than normal times..good thing I had pretty empty pockets!..kept my spending limitted!No more stoves though..other than one old coleman and one of the smaller canister old coleman aluminum "picnic" ones..which I really wasn't interested in.

The views and opinions expressed by this person are his own and not the general consensus of others on this website.Realityguy